Note to Current & Future "Helicopter" Parents....

"Based the monsters on relatives" -- man, would that warm the cockles of my heart if one of my nephs or nieces were to take a page from Sendak's book (so to speak)! That's the sort of notoriety I think I could handle.

In other lit-movie news: my younger daughter is completely taken with Coraline -- the book and the movie. When someone asked if Neil Gaiman if he thought this story was suitable for their child, Gaiman said something akin to Sendak, albeit with a little more poise: "I could no more answer that question than I could, 'Do you think he could handle mushrooms in his omelet?'"